Hi All - Totally new to the forums, first time posting. I've just purchased a new Zetec-S 180 Eco Boost. The book said it would do 57 MPG combined. I took this with a pinch of salt and expected 40 ish. I'm absolutely gutted to find it's just scraping 32! I'm driving it like a granny. I'm really worried to the point where i'm looking into my right to return the vehicle. It's my first new car, is it common that maybe it'll take a while to run-in before achieving better MPG? Anybody else here have one? Thanks - Dave

Haz93

January 31, 2013, 11:55 am

Hi mate, welcome

Haven't had a new car myself but I have heard that it may take 2000/3000 miles for the engine to 'bed in'

It should improve over time, my 1.6 Zetec S non turbo gets about 40mpg when driving slow so the ecoboost should be better after a few thousand miles

Rossostopher

January 31, 2013, 12:15 pm

Will also depend on where you drive, I have a 55 plate 1.6 zetec and its supposed to get 32 mpg urban with 42 mpg combined. I do roughly drive half motorway half city but I will find I struggle to hit 33mpg. Combined is made from 45% city driving and 55% motorway, anything extra above 45% does actually make a huge difference.

Also try and calculate the MPG yourself, do not always rely on the onboard computer to do. Fill up your tank, drive around, fill it up again and use that amount against what you have driven to calculate the MPG.

But as HAZ said, bed the engine in first, use some engine cleaner as well to clear out new stuff coming off of the engine then judge it again.

DavyNix

January 31, 2013, 12:31 pm

Thanks guys.. having read this; "[b]Average fuel consumption is worked out through a series of tests. Urban fuel consumption is established through tests that emulate driving in urban environments, with an average speed of 19mph. Extra urban tests look at fuel consumption at higher speeds averaging 39mph, and the average of these figures gives the combined fuel consumption figure." [b] [/b][/b]
And this; [b]Combined (mpg) 47.9, Extra Urban (mpg) 57.7, Urban (mpg) 37.2[/b]
My average speed at the moment is 23, so I should be hovering around the 37 - 40 mark. So I hope it just takes a while to bed-in. So far I've done 200 miles and I would say they are 50 /50 split between motorway and city driving - Thanks.

jmbrown91

January 31, 2013, 12:41 pm

I have a brand new 1.0 ecoboost ZS which also states around 56mpg, first tank I got around 35mpg, and now the car has done 1500 miles I'm getting 39.7 so it is slowly increasing. As others have said let the engine bed in for a few 1000 miles and see how it goes from there..

Loz Cheung on this forum has a 180 EcoBoost ZS so he'll be able to give you more info in regards to that specific engine

cuke

January 31, 2013, 12:56 pm

Hi, it might state 57mpg but that figure is obtained under simulated conditions inside a nice warm testing establishment. No one should ever think it is a figure that can be 'realistically' achieved and Ford more or less state that themselves on the back cover of their brochures. The figures are only there to make a comparison from one manufacturers figures from another and aren't reflective of real world motoring. At the moment the ambient temperatures are low, thus there will be many of us using the heated front and rear screens, the car itself will be using more fuel for cold starts.
Having said that I have seen 57mpg from my, remapped, 1.6 ecoboost but only under the conditions that might replicate the testing conditions, however drive the car on the flat in 5th/6th gear and see what the instant mpg is indicating and then do your sums.

Wow - MPG envy right here . So this is 180PS engine? I would be happy with 40. I've just switched from a 2l Mondeo (auto) which done 34! I was expecting to get a lot more than 32.

artscot79

January 31, 2013, 5:07 pm

join the vast amount of people complaining there cars arent hitting close to what was stated real owners have posted there mpg figures and heres the average mpg 36.1 mpg the 2.0 tdci is only achieving 44.2 mpg even the 1.0 ecoboost is only hitting 40.6 mpg

so youre not alone in youre concerns its not just ford many manufacturers fall way short and toi be honest people expect too much always take the lowest figure and thats about right you said 37.5 so its not far off the 36.1

jeffnat68

January 31, 2013, 5:14 pm

Also it depends on what fuel you are putting in.If I stick in shell v power I seem to get better mpg than when I stick just normal fuel in..Just a thought...

alexp999

January 31, 2013, 5:15 pm

From experience I have always found that you get about 10MPG less than the stated figure, from "real world" driving.

You will want to wait past the 2-3k "bed-in" period though before you get too worried.

What is your commute like, how "combined" are your journeys?

Loz Cheung

January 31, 2013, 5:21 pm

howdy!
i have the same engine, it started at 37 when i first had it and then slowly crept up to 40mpg. it hovers around 39.7 for most of the time +/- 1 depending on weather, mood over a week, or whether paps has nicked it!

Dont worry about what youre getting:

200 miles is nothing so dont expect it just yet! mine took 1500 miles to get decent figures.

Someone else on here was sat at 32mpg too for a while - it was a bit of a scare when i read it before i got mine!
They turned around after a few months to say it did get to high 30's-40mpg too.

the figures stated are only from people who own those cars on honest john real world mpg i think from the figures 40 may be around the max

cuke

January 31, 2013, 6:38 pm

[quote name='DavyNix' timestamp='1359637888' post='231943']
Wow - MPG envy right here . So this is 180PS engine? I would be happy with 40. I've just switched from a 2l Mondeo (auto) which done 34! I was expecting to get a lot more than 32.
[/quote]

Hi, no this is from a 150ps engine remapped beyond that of a 180, I got those figures before anyway. Least I've seen was a 32mpg average whilst giving it some, and I mean alot, whilst 'testing' the remap out

TDCiST

January 31, 2013, 8:20 pm

Your style of driving will also affect this massively...

Its all very well saying you drive like a granny, but do you coast with your foot on the clutch? harsh braking, etc etc etc... Its amazing how you can adapt to driving economically over time.

I put my trip computer on instant MPG, and try to drive to get the figure as high as i can most of the time.

I started driving my Focus and getting 45mpg, i now regulary see 50-55mpg+ depending on journeys.

alexp999

January 31, 2013, 8:27 pm

You can probably attain better MPG by not driving like a granny. Having the correct gear for the speed you are doing is more important than how low the revs are, revs are not a direct reflection of how much fuel the car is using.

Anticipation is key to economical driving, Clarkson said it once and it is quite true. The trick is to not stop and use your brakes as little as possible. Everytime you brake you are turning the energy from burnt fuel to get you moving into wasted heat only to have to use more fuel to bring you up to speed again.

Obviously you can't drive around without ever touching the brakes, but keeping an eye up ahead and timing of when to use the throttle and brakes can make a big difference. It means your brakes last longer too

cuke

January 31, 2013, 9:20 pm

Hi, lol what does clarkson know about driving economically? On a turbo I've found that it is better to keep the revs below that when the turbo kicks in, common sense says that on a forced induction petrol engine. My car will waft along at 30mph on the flat in 5th quite easily, I've seen the figures, in 4th, mpg is greater, not by much but every little counts. Engines are different, cars are different,after only 200 miles the OP has yet to become adjusted to the driving characteristics of the Focus...

He said it on one of the shows, key to driving economically is to not stop or not touch the brakes. He said it in his usual jokey way, but it is quite true.

Dal.

January 31, 2013, 9:30 pm

The old saying that the right pedal uses fuel whilst the middle one wastes it always holds true. Anticipation and smoothness is the key I've found.

Some fellow owners of Mk2 Focus STs like mine report about 20mpg whereas I do a good 75 mile run daily to work and back and still average over 30mpg after 15 months of ownership.

Foci_st3

January 31, 2013, 9:38 pm

[quote name='Loz Cheung' timestamp='1359652869' post='231976']
howdy!
i have the same engine, it started at 37 when i first had it and then slowly crept up to 40mpg. it hovers around 39.7 for most of the time +/- 1 depending on weather, mood over a week, or whether paps has nicked it!

[/quote]

I agree I'm getting these same figures running tesco 99 if I go on a long motorway run it will do mid 40s. All comes down to what journey your doing as I'm doing 250mils a week and its mainly A roads and a few B roads

Preee

January 31, 2013, 10:07 pm

Lol don't worry about the MPG , mines 29.2 , i do very short distance for one , 2nd i drive it like it should be driven , yes that MPG i have is rubbish , but the turbo is there to be used , so i make use of it

DavyNix

February 1, 2013, 10:48 am

Morning All - amazing response, what a great forum! OK, so I'm a little less worried (thanks @Loz Cheung especially) and to be honest, I love driving it and the extras that they "threw-in" would make it hard to give back anyway.... although i'm not sure id even have the choice to give it back. So I'll take it all in and see how I get on over the next few months.

DavyNix

February 1, 2013, 10:50 am

One last thing... Remapping... on turbo diesel it seems to always help with the fuel efficiency? Is that the case with these engines as well?

Dal.

February 1, 2013, 1:18 pm

My mpg only really went up after i moved from stage 1 to stage 2 with a larger intercooler. Counter-acted by playing with the extra power though unfortunately!

cuke

February 1, 2013, 5:10 pm

Hi, I think he was referring to the ecoboost engine that has the direct injection, similar to a diesel, that your doesn't. I don't think there is much difference in a petrol turbo between it being mapped or not, certainly it doesn't get any worse.I also drive mine for fun and don't care too much for fuel consumption as the engine makes such a lovely noise, with 32mpg as my minimum who's complaining...